Shelley Moore Capito is a Climate Change Denier

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito
West Virginia

"Despite a widespread scientific consensus, the West Virginia Republican said she's 'not convinced' that human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide are leading to global warming that will alter the planet's climate in ways that could be dangerous."

What climate change means for West Virginia

A major disaster was declared in West Virginia due to March 2012 severe storms, flooding, mudslides, and landslides. More than $6.8 million in Federal assistance for recovery was provided to West Virginia.

In West Virginia, there were more than 3,000 hospital admissions for asthma in 2011, with an average charge ￼of more than $11,200 for each stay.

Nine counties in West Virginia were designated as primary natural disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2010 due to damages from drought to corn, forage, soybean, apple, and peach crops.

￼Changing temperature and precipitation patterns can affect the life cycle and distribution of insects, ￼many of which transmit diseases that already pose problems to public health in West Virginia. In 2010, ￼there were 128 cases of Lyme disease in the State.

Sea level rise, dangerous storm surges, and intense hurricanes already pose serious threats to coastal cities in the Southeast, and climate change will intensify these impacts. The Southeast experienced two billion-dollar extreme weather events in 2012. Decreased water availability is very likely to affect the region’s economy as well as its natural systems. By the end of this century, much of the Southeast will experience more than 100 days above 90°F, which in the absence of adaptive actions is expected to lead to more heat-stress related illness and deaths, decreased agricultural production, and negative impacts on fish and wildlife. Warmer temperatures accelerate formation of smog in urban areas, exacerbating respiratory problems such as asthma.